This section is intended to introduce various aspects of the art, which may be associated with exemplary embodiments of the present invention. This discussion is believed to assist in providing a framework to facilitate a better understanding of particular aspects of the present invention. Accordingly, it should be understood that this section should be read in this light, and not necessarily as any admission of prior art.
There are many reasons a blood vessel becomes blocked or obstructed. One common way is from deposition of thrombus or clot inside the lumen of the blood vessels which can restrict the antegrade blood flow through the lumens of these blood vessels to the body tissues. Because arterial blockages reduce blood flow through the affected vessel, any blockage or obstruction can lead to many serious medical complications as tissue relying on the blood's supply of oxygen may become damaged due to the decrease in the oxygen amount. For instance in the brain circulation this can lead to stroke with loss of vital brain functions and/or death, while in the heart it can lead heart attack due to damage of the heart muscle with significant impairment of its ability to pump blood to the body organ which can eventually lead to death.
While various methods and devices are available to treat a blockage or obstruction through removal of the obstructing clot, these devices can be traumatic to the blood vessel due to stiffness and pressure exerted on the lining of the vessel during clot engagement and removal. In addition, they usually do not sufficiently capture and retain the particulate matters from the obstruction. In particular, these methods usually cause fragmentation of the clot either during device engagement of the clot or due to the friction between the not fully encapsulated clot with the wall of the vessels or the flowing blood during the removal from the body. This fragmentation of the clot can lead to migrating of clot fragments with the blood flow either to the same treated blood vessels and its branches distal to the original obstruction site or to another unaffected area of the vascular system in the branching circulation at or proximal to the site of the obstruction where they can get lodged again and causes further obstruction. There remain a need for new devices to safely remove the obstructing clot fully encapsulated and shielded from the friction force with the blood vessel wall and the flowing blood to prevent excessive fragmentation and distal migration